Twin Games
by Il Cielo Piove delle Stelle
Summary: Twins with a horrible past come to Hogwarts with bright smiles and optomistic spirits. When a past that sends shivers up anyone's spine comes back to them, can they trust their new friends, the Marauders, to help them through it? Sirius/OC Remus/OC
1. Thestrals

Two identicle girls embraced in a sisterly hug as they stood in the midst of King Cross Station.

"Alyxandra!" One of the burgandy haired twins squealed, hugging her twin tighter. Her brown hair bounced around her in catostrophic waves.

"Isabelle!" The other twin squeezed her sister tighter, too, her athymest eyes sparkling brighter than any star on a pitch black night. "I missed you so much! We didn't get to visit this year, so it's been... uh... two whole years! Can you believe that?"

"Ugh, no! It felt like two years and one day. Isn't that amazing?"

The one called Alyxandra burst into laughter. "Oh, we're going to have f~u~n this year!"

"I know!" Isabelle sighed dreamily. "Prank-twins back in buisness, baby!"

They chanted "Prank-Pair" and "Twin-Terror" until they noticed their parents standing akwardly. The twins straightened themselves out, staring up at their parents.

"It's nice to see you, father," Isabelle smiled softly, but her father cast her a single glance before grunting.

"Isabelle." He looked down at her with disrespect that made Isabelle recoil.

"Hello, mother," Alyxandra smiled feintly at her mother, who looked into Alyxandra's eyes.

"Alyxandra." Her mother spat lightly. "You seem to be faring well." It came out careless and with silent loathing. Alyxandra sighed sadly.

"We've got to go now," Alyxandra looked over at the train, which was loudly preparing for departation.

"But we'll send you letters and stuff!" Isabelle smiled back at their parents as they boarded the train. They made their way to the back of the train, assuming that's where all the empty compartments were. They were correct.

They slid into their compartment across from eachother, and looked out the window before exchanging grins.

"This is going to be so _fun!_" Alyxandra squealed.

"Alyxandra, we are going to have so much to do there!" Isabelle grinned as her sister gaped. "Oops, _sorry. _I mean _Alyx._"

"Oh, thank you Isabelle- oh, my bad, _Izzy_."

The twins burst into fresh laughter.

"Mother and father are still distant," Izzy said suddenly, looking out the window sadly. "They barely looked at eachother." She turned to her sister, a despreat sorrow in her eyes. "I hate seeing them like that. Did you see it? They acted like strangers. Plus, father still hates me and mother still hates you! Why does mother love me, even though I look exactly like you? And why does father love you, even though you look exactly like me?"

"Izzy, you know I hate it. But let's make this year amazing- we'll be remembered. That's our goal, right? To stand out! We're going to get to Hogwarts, look at it with confidence and say 'our names are Isabelle and Alyxandra Syaverie, and you'll remember us.' Okay?"

Izzy smiled, "yeah... Yeah! We're going to be different- not like we arent already, but there's always room for improvement!"

"That's the spirit," Alyx laughed.

They sat in their own compartment for most of the ride playing muggle card games. Once the trolly came around, the girls got out of their compartment and stared at the trolly in wonder.

"You come around with _candy?_" Izzy asked incredously.

"What does Hogwarts _not _have?" Alyx breathed in astonishment. They purchased a handful of chocolate and slid back into their compartment. A while later, their compartment door opened and a slightly angry looking girl and a boy stood in the doorway.

"Oh, hello," The girl smiled apologetically. "Can we sit here?"

"Sure," Alyx replied smiling. Alyx slipped out of her seat and sat next to her twin. The redheaded girl took the seat greatfully, the big nosed boy sitting next to her. The girl stuck out her hand with a genuine, polite smile.

"I'm Lily Evans."

"Nice to meet you, Lily," The twins said simultaniously, and laughed.

Lily smiled and turned to her friend, who didn't stick his hand out, but stared at the twins with peircing black eyes, "Severus Snape."

They didn't take his stare the wrong way- or any way at all. They simply grinned and sang, "Nice to meet you, Severus!"

The four chatted for about twenty minutes before a prefect came in and told them to get changed. They simply slipped their robes over their clothes.

"You said you like potions?" Alyx turned to Severus, and so did Izzy.

Snape nodded.

"That's so cool! I personally prefer transfiguration, but Potions would be my second choice, no doubt." Izzy grinned. Snape stared at the girls, thinking _they aren't your average girls. _

"Whoa!" The twins synced, glancing around the Great Hall incredously. "This is amazing!"

The other students tried to look professional by hiding their astonishment, but the twins didn't even make an effort.

The first years grouped in front of a chair with an old, withered hat sitting upon it. Alyx and Izzy exchanged glances and tried not to let out a single giggle. Alyx noticed a group of four boys next to them. One was incredibly handsome, with stormy grey eyes and shady black hair. Another had messy hair and brown eyes framed with slim glasses. Another boy had light brown hair and hazel eyes, and looked slightly pale. The last one was pudgy with brown hair. **(A/N: Can't remember Peter's description... But it's not like anyone liked him anyway...)**

Alyx jumped when she heard her name called. "Huh?" She called dumbly. Her sister, despite the glances, burst into laughter.

"Go up for your sorting, idiot!" She hissed through giggles. Alyx didn't flush, but glared at her sister irritatedly. She hopped up and sat on the chair as the hat was placed upon her head.

"_Hm... Let's see..." _The hat murmured.

"Whoa!" Alyx exclaimed, peering up at the hat the best she could.

"What?" A student called curiously. She grinned.

"It _talks!_"

The students erupted into chatter, which was quickly silenced.

"_You're very brave- you seem to outspeak people. You stand up for what you believe in... And it seems you don't care what you are to others- or, to be more specific, you don't care what you look like to the outside world. Your mind is advanced, but you do before you make poor descisions that somehow turn good." _

"Am I supposed to take offense to that...?" Alyx murmured. The hat seemed to chuckle.

"_Yes... I know exactly where to put you..._" The hat sounded decided, then screamed out, "_GRYFFINDOR!"_

The Gryffindor table errupted into cheers and cries of joy as Alyx sat upon the table, grinning widely. Her sister was called, next.

"_Ah... you seem smart. Actually, you're just like your sister. Brave, you outspeak people, and your past is hard. Parents that loathe eachother. Your bad choices lead to great outcomes. I know where you belong..." _

"Please, put me with Alyx..."

"_GRYFFINDOR!!" _

The Gryffindor table once again burst into chants and cheers as Izzy sat next to Alyx.

Soon after the ceremony, the feast began. Food piled up on plates endlessly and Alyx and Izzy exchanged glances. All the other girls at the table were trying to look classy and like they were used to it, but Alyx and Izzy didn't understand why.

"Dude, we're in heaven!" Alyx drooled at the roasted Turkey taking up the plate in front of them.

"I couldn't agree more!" Izzy dove into the Turkey just as her sister did, and they ate at least three quarters.

"Ooh..." Alyx moaned, clutching her stomach with a pleased smile on her face. "I can't eat anymore."

But right when the desserts appeared, Alyx and Izzy dove in. They stayed in the Great Hall until most of the students had cleared out, and they grinned at eachother.

"I think we're going to like it here," Izzy stated, and Alyx laughed.

"We should head up." Alyx murmured, looking around. She spotted the boys from before, and watched as they laughed togethor. She turned to her sister. "Okay?"

"Sure!" She paused, looking at her twin's face. "Hey- Alyx, you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Alyx chirped, grabbing Izzy's wrist and dragging her out of the Great Hall. They made their way into the common room after finding out the password and sat in a pair of chairs by a window. They grinned at eachother.

"Ready to start the pranking, sister dearest?" Izzy asked smilng like a maniac.

"I've been ready since the day I was born!" Alyx thrust a fist into the air, causing a few people to stare at them. Not like Alyx or Izzy actually cared, anyway.

"Oh, Alyxandra, Isabelle!" A slightly familiar voice called, sounding relieved. The twins turned and saw Lily Evans rushing up to them, away from the group of four boys from the Great Hall. Her red hair swished behind her, one of the boys –a glasses-wearing, messy haired boy- was watching her leave. "Hello! How was the feast for you two?"

"Fantastic!" Alyx cheered, jumping up and down. "Needless to say, the desserts got to me!"

Izzy laughed at Lily's expression, and then remembered something. "Oh- and Lily?"

Lily looked at Izzy curiously. "Hm?"

"Call me Izzy, not Isabelle. Isabelle is _way _too formal for me!"

"And call me Alyx! Alyxandra makes me sound so, like Izzy said, formal!"

"Oh, um, okay. Izzy and Alyx. Got it." Lily nodded, smiling embarressedly. The twins laughed loudly and leaned back in their chairs. They stood, looming over Lily. The twins were taller than average girls, standing at a height of 5'3! Lily noticed and gasped. "You two! You're... _really tall!_"

"Thanks!" They chorused happily. "We love being called tall!"

"How tall are you, exactly?" Lily's emrald eyes were flecked with interest.

"We stand at a mighty 5'3!" Alyx chirped happily. "Isn't it great? We could be basketball players! I've always loved basketball!"

"You know what basketball is?" Lily asked incredously.

"Even though we're purebloods, we still enjoy a good game of basketball. Alyx and I always beat anyone we play." Izzy grinned proudly.

"Really?" Lily smiled. "That's really cool that purebloods can appreciate stuff like that."

"Our parents are totally fine with it, too!" Alyx laughed, but her laughter cut off abruptly, and she looked over at Izzy, whose smile was fading. "Or rather... they don't really care..."

When Lily's eyebrows shot up, Izzy improvised. She yawned loudly, and stretched.

"Oh, God, I'm tired! We've got classes tomorrow, too!"

Alyx caught on, and took the chance to change the subject. "Sleeping would be smart... Aw, but I hate having to end the day! There's still so much to do!" Alyx sighed, but shrugged. "Oh well, I look forward to tomorrow!"

"G'night, Lily!" The twins simultaniously sang, ascending the staircase that lead up to the girls' dormitry.

The twin girls lay in their beds. They'd gotten a room without any other girls, which made the twins slightly happy for their privacy, but slightly lonely. At least they were in the same dorm, though.

The night air swept into the room as the window hung loosly open, and Izzy shivered. She remembered when their parents divorced. It was terrible. She couldn't keep that thought out of her head, so when she fell asleep, that very memory shone in her dreams like the brightest star on an inky black night.

* * *

"_I've had it with you and your stupid 'job'!" Evangelene Syaverie screamed angrily, jabbing a finger at her husband, Johnathan Syaverie. "Take your bags and get out of my house! Oh- and take that brat Alyxandra with you! I'm keeping Isabelle. You can have the other brat." _

"_You can't just throw someone out of their own house!" Johnathan snarled menacingly. The five year old twin daughters of the pair sat on the top step of the staircase of their home, watching in agony. Both were crying and clinging to eachother. Their father went on, a feirce glare on his face as he proceeded to yell at their mother. "You are crazy! You're just going to throw your husband and daughter out of his own house? What do you think Alyxandra and Isabelle are going to think? I'm not going to expose Alyxandra to such a psycopath like you!" _

"_Me? Crazy? You're the one who is always late to home, claiming to be held up at work. You think I'm an idiot like your sister? I know you're cheating, Johnathan Syaverie! You can't pretend anymore! I'll sue you for all your worth if you don't get out of my house with that brat and never come back! If you don't, Johnathan, I swear to God, I will sue you and throw you in jail!" _

"_You can't throw me anywhere!" Johnathan roared. "This is _my _home! _My _money! _My _Alyxandra! If anything, you should be the one to leave!" _

_His wife's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh, I remember! Father gave me money in case I ever want to leave you! You know, I never agreed with that until now!" The mother cackled insanely and pointed to the door. "I've got more money than you'll ever have, so I don't need you! I'll go buy a marvelous mansion, I'm taking Isabelle, and maybe I'll even get married again! Good luck with whatever bimbo you're fooling around with, because I'm out of here!" Evangelene bounded up the stairs, taking Isabelle with her, to go pack. _

"_Daddy!" Alyxandra cried, running down the stairs and into her father's open arms. "Don't do this! Daddy! Don't let mommy take Izzy!" _

"_I'm sorry, Alyxandra," her father simply crooned, hugging her closer. Alyxandra beat her diminutive fists against his chest, sobbing endlessly. But the sobs sounded as if they were echoing, for her sister was sobbing, too. _

_Upstairs, Isabelle sat on her bed, crying loudly as she watched her mother finish packing. "Mommy! I want to stay with Alyx!" _

"_Isabelle, no. We've got to leave. We'll start a better life! More money, a better house, a better school, everything!" Her mother took her in her arms, cradling her before letting go and gathering the suitcases. _

_Evangelene threw the suitcases in her car and went back into the house to fetch Isabelle. She picked Isabelle up easily, and carried her out the door with difficulty, because Isabelle was trying to get to Alyxandra. _

"_ALYX!" She screamed, crying and reaching for her sister. _

"_IZZY!" Alyxandra roared, also crying, but trying to beat her father away, reaching for her twin. _

_The last image in Isabelle's mind before her mother shut the car door was Alyxandra freeing herself of her father's grasp long enough to run after the car. Alyxandra screamed, "IZZY! IZZY!" into the night as her sister was taken away. _

* * *

"Ouch!" A voice yelped, which woke Izzy up immediately. Her sister stood over her, clutching her eye.

"Alyx! What happened?" Izzy gasped.

"You _hit _me! I tried to wake you up and you _hit _me!" Alyx breathed. "I can't believe you managed to hit me without being actually awake!"

Uncontrolably, Izzy began laughing, and Alyx glared. "Oh, you are going to pay!"

Alyx chased Izzy out of the Dorm, and down the stairs. Both girls were wearing flannel pajamas, so it looked quite weird. Alyx cornered Izzy and grabbed her arm, tugging her close.

"You will pay...!" She said in a low, Hungarian accent.

Izzy couldn't help but laugh. Alyx soon began giggling, too, and went into full blown laughter.

"Wait..." Izzy murmured to herself. "Wasn't there something we were supposed to be doing today?"

A group of four boys, the ones from the other day, spoke up. It didn't matter they were across the room- everyone in the common room was staring at the twins. The sandy haired, golden eyed pale boy spoke up, "We have classes today, if that's what you're talking about."

The twins exchanged glances. "OH CRAP!" They turned to the boy. "How many more minutes?"

The boy looked at his watch, then back up at the girls, "three minutes."

"OH CRAP!"

The girls made it just in time for Transfiguration. The teacher wasn't in the classroom, yet, but all the other students were. They looked at the tired girls that had burst into the classroom, and tried to contain their giggles.

The twins collapsed in their seats and let their heads fall onto the desks.

"Thank God... we made it...!" Alyx breathed. Izzy laughed chokily.

"Ouch~!" She rubbed her throat. "I would kill for some water right now..."

Just then the teacher walked in and begun class. Thankfully, the first few days would just be taking notes. That was extremely easy for the two girls. They decided to write notes to eachother while taking notes.

_Hey, Alyx. What class do we have next? _

**Uh... Charms, I think. **

"_You think"? Why not check? You have the paper in your bag, right? _

**Uh... Yes. Gimme a second. **

Alyx shifted through her bag in search of her schedule, and finally found it. She quickly checked what their schedule was, and replied on the note quickly.

**We don't have CHARMS next. We have POTIONS. Then we've got Care of Magical Creatures (OOH! THAT SOUNDS FUN!!!). Here, lemme show you the schedule: **

**Breakfast**

**Transfiguration**

**Potions**

**Care of Magical Creatures **

**Lunch**

**Arithmancy **

**Divination **

**Charms**

**AND LOOK AT THIS! WE'VE GOT MUGGLE STUDIES!! We'll ++A this class**

**Ancient Runes**

**Dinner**

**That's the schedule. Ha ha, Charms was last! You were WAY off!**

_What do you mean? You were the one who said it was going to be Charms. _

**Oh... Well... FINE! Maybe I said that, but you didn't know what we had in the first place. **

The twins exchanged grins, which wasn't missed by their teacher.

McGonagall called the twins names. "Are you listening?"

The twins grinned. "Yes, yes we are!"

She didn't look fooled. She walked over, muttering about them having to have the correct notes, and looked over their notes before frowning and walking back to the front; shooting a suspicious glance at the girls she continued her speech. The twins grinned at eachother again when she had her back turned and high-fived.

The class slowly ended, which lead the twin girls to Potions.

"Hey, do you think Lily and Severus will be in this class, too? Severus said he liked Potions." Izzy remembered as they made their way through the crowded halls toward Potions.

"Oh, he did, didn't he?" Alyx remembered. "Well, we'll just have to see."

"Who teaches this class, again?" Izzy and Alyx entered Potions and sat in the front, excited.

"I think –do not say ANYTHING!- Slughorn does."

Izzy snickered and looked back to the front as class began. Surprisingly enough, they were staring out with making an actual potion. Izzy gathered what they needed while Alyx heaved the cauldron onto the table.

"That thing is _heavy!_" She breathed, wiping her brow. Izzy giggled, setting the ingredients on the counter.

"Okay, so I'll tell you what we need to do to and you'll just do it, okay?" Izzy smiled at Alyx, who huffed.

"Okaaaay." She sighed.

"So first we need two dragon scales."

Alyx gathered two bright –almost glowing- dragon scales and plopped them into the cauldron.

"Next- a single hair from a Banshee."

Alyx peered at the table, trying to find the small ingredient. When she did, she dropped it into the black pot.

"Next- you'll love this one." Izzy laughed quietly. "A dragon's eyeball."

"Oh, no way! Cool!" Alyx grasped the eyeball carefully, eyeing it curiously. The iris shone a crimson red, which sent a shiver up Alyx's back. She tossed it into the cauldron, causing a few drops of water to splash onto Izzy, who didn't cover herself like Alyx did.

"Did you just splash me with Banshee hair, dragon scale, and dragon _eye _infected water?" Izzy asked incredously.

Alyx shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey- its payback for you hitting me!" Alyx's eye still had the red outline from the blow.

Izzy sighed. "Fair enough." She looked back at the list of ingredients and continued. "Frog warts. Oh, EW!"

Alyx made a face at the clumped togethor pile of Frog warts. "Ugh." She quickly got it over with, swiftly tossing the glump into the cauldron.

"Uh... we're done, then. All there is left to do is stir." Izzy looked over at Alyx, who pouted.

"Izzy..." She pleaded. "Can you do it?"

Izzy rolled her eyes and nodded. "Ugh, fine."

She stirred slowly, boredly, and Alyx sat at the chair, doodling on a piece of paper.

"There... done!" She announced. Slughorn looked over and grinned brightly.

"Ah! Indeed you are!" He beamed. "You two just wait until everyone else is done, alright?"

The girls nodded, and looked around the room. A few seats back, Lily and Severus sat, stirring their potion.

"Let's go say hi!" Izzy grabbed Alyx's hand and dragged her to their seat. Alyx and Izzy smiled at the pair. "Hey!"

"Oh, hello Alyx, Izzy." Lily smiled at them, and Severus nodded at them.

"Oh, come on, Severus!" The twins whined. "Call us by our names. _Please?_"

Severus sighed heavily, and without looking at them, said, "Hello, Alyxandra, hello Isabelle."

"Call me Alyx!" Alyx grinned, and Izzy did the same.

"Call me Izzy. We're friends, right? Friends have nicknames!"

Severus looked up at them with coal black eyes that held surprise, and Lily giggled. "I told you- they're full of energy."

"You've been talking about us?" Izzy asked with mock embarressment.

"Oh, how flattering!" Alyx smiled. "So what class do you two have after this?"

"I have Care of Magical Creatures, but Severus has Divination." Lily replied simply, staring at her potion before turning to Severus. "Does this look right?"

"Yes," Severus nodded once, and Alyx and Izzy both saw the look in his eyes when Lily smiled proudly. He obviously had a crush on her.

"That's cute." Izzy whispered to Alyx as they made their way back to their seats.

"Yeah, but do you think he'll do anything about it anytime soon?" Alyx whispered back.

They were let out of that class and sent to Care of Magical Creatures. The teacher was a man named Silvanus Kettleburn. Kettleburn was reckless, to say the least. In the small amount of time they'd been there, he'd gotten bitten by the creature they'd been studying at least five times.

Alyx noticed something out in the forest behind their workspace and frowned. IT was a large, lanky horse-like figure, its skin pitch black. Wings like a bat's sprouted from its back, and once Alyx caught its stare, neither net go.

She raised her hand, without taking her eyes off of the creature. Kettleburn paused his lecture of the troll... thing they were studying to call on Alyx. She kept staring at the creature, but asked her question. She pointed at the creature, "Professor Kettleburn... what's that?"

He looked where Alyx was pointing and frowned. He didn't see anything. "What are you seeing over there, Miss Syaverie?"

Alyx finally looked over at Kettleburn in astonishment. "That- that thing over there, just on the boarders of the Forbidden Forest! It's _right there!_"

Izzy suddenly nodded. "I see it, too, sir."

He looked around the class, and saw that all the other students looked confused. His heart felt icy. "W-would you describe this, ah, creature you see to me?"

"But its right there!"

He looked at loss. "Please, just describe it."

"Uh... okay," Alyx eyed him before looking back at the creature. "It looks like a horse- but its skin is black and looks stretched out over its bones. Bat-like wings are sprouted from its back, and its eyes are really, _really _hypnotizing. Like a whirlpool of black."

Kettleburn paled and looked like he was about to throw up.

"You okay, sir?" Alyx eyed him again, this time worridly instead of as if he were insane.

He gestured they come up to him, and when they did, he whispered hoarsly:

"No... No you two girls... can you go up and see the Headmaster for me? Tell him what you saw and hopefully... hopefully he can figure out what's going on."

"Uh... okay... but what's going on?" Izzy asked, suddenly worried for her sister and herself. "Is there something wrong with that creature?"

"The Headmaster will explain." He smiled briskly, looking pained as he watched the twin girls run up the hill to Hogwarts.

Kettleburn gulped down the lump in his throat before turning back to his class.

"Ahem," He cleared his throat, as if nothing had happened. "As I was saying..."

Alyx and Izzy reached Dumbledore's office, knocking lightly and hearing a breezy, "Come in."

The twins entered and looked around in wonderment. Knick-knacks were aligned all over the room, you couldn't look somewhere without finding a tinker somewhere. But what caught the girls eyes was a flaming red bird perched upon his bar-like throne, gazing down at them calmly with inky black eyes. He gave a low squak, as if aknowlaging their prescence. His wings spread apart slightly as his beat them, ruffling his feathers. They spread like a flame, different shades of red and orange dancing around the magnificent bird.

"I see you've taken a liking to Fawkes," an old, wise voice sounded from –yet another knick-knack- desk. "Not surprising- everyone does."

The girls looked over at him, and tried to stifle their gasps. He looked _just like _the Merlin in the muggle picture books they used to read, with a long, dark –almost violet- robe hanging around him, his long, snowy beard curling a tiny bit at the bottom. His eyes were a soft charcoal and the wrinkles on his face were slightly lifted in his soft smile.

"What sends you two girls here today?"

Izzy was the first to regain speech. "Um... sir. We were in Care of Magical Creatures, and we saw some kind of creature at the borders of the Forbidden Forest. No one else could see it, though, even when we pointed it out. Not even Professor Kettleburn. Plus, he seemed really freaked out when we described it. Is that bad, sir? He acted weird after we described the creature, and didn't seem... uh... at ease."

"Ah... a Thestral." Dumbledore looked up at the two girls through his half-circle spectacles. "Tell me... have you girls ever seen death?"

The girls' faces paled and their hands suddenly felt strangely clammy. Alyx muttered hoarsly, "... Once."

Dumbledore smiled politely and gestured for them to sit in a pair of chairs in front of his desk.

_Were those there before? _Izzy thought curiously before sitting down.

"Whose death did you witness?" Dumbledore asked softly. Alyx answered, for Izzy was too shaken up about remembering _that day_.

"Our best friends." Alyx replied, looking as if she were going to throw up right then and there.

"Professor Dumbledore..." Izzy whispered, trying to look him in the eyes but failing, looking down again.

"What is it, Miss Syaverie?"

Izzy bit her lip, and Alyx looked at her.

Izzy forced herself to look into Dumbledore's illuminated eyes. They were so... _powerful._ So knowing, as if displaying Dumbledore had seen the world's seven wonders. They were so knowlageable, Izzy's breath was taken away. She opened her dry mouth and asked her question. "What is a Thestral, sir?"

"A creature you can only see if you've seen death."


	2. Sirius Orion Black Ran Like Hell

No one said anything for a while. The silence envaloped us and my throat constricted. Death? We'd seen it. Three times. But we'd only tell Dumbledore about two. The third was... it wasn't their fault they died.

It was our fault they died.

But I'm not going to tell you about that unless necessary.

Being the braver twin –though no one would ever know that, I mean, we look exactly the same- is straightened up and spoke.

"His name was Jordan Luthi. He had bleached blond hair that actually almost looked white. His eyes were a strange gold slash green color he used to get made fun of for. I stood up for him once, when I thought it'd gone too far, and after that we became friends, I guess. We used to hang out all the time, but one day he just kind of... faded. He started hanging out with this group of kids that didn't look too nice. I think they were a discreet gang, but I don't know why any gang would want to be discreet. Unless they're in trouble.

"Anyway, I went to his house a few weeks later and confronted him. He told me it was none of my buisness, and I should just go home. I didn't take that. I stayed there until he told me what was up." I could tell my face was pale and my hands were shaking. Looking down at my shoes, I felt like I was about to puke. "U-um, and when he did... he had this, erm, _tattoo_ on his forearm. It didn't look too... inviting."

"What was it?" Dumbledore seemed interested now. He almost looked a little queasy himself. "What was the mark, Miss Syaverie?"

"It was... it was a snake. And a skull. The snake was, like, coming out of the skull's mouth. And I could've sworn it was glowing slightly. And that's how I found out about the whole magical witch and wizard deal. Actually, it was _Jordan _who explained it to me. When I found out about it... I... I freaked out at him." Anger welled inside me. Why was I so angry? It upset me talking about it, and even thinking about it made me angry. "Why would he keep something like that from me, I didn't know. I just... I started yelling and I was really angry and..." I put a hand over my mouth, begging whatever God was up there I would not cry. "A-and... He just collapsed. I checked his pulse and when I realized he wasn't breathing and that his pulse wasn't there, I-I screamed." I couldn't contain it. At the same time, I puked up my breakfast in _wonderful _chunks and cried. It was hell. I don't even think I remember beginning to puke, but I did. Dumbledore waited patiently throughout the whole fiasco while Izzy patted my back worridly.

"Miss Syaverie, would you like to go to the Hospital Wing?" Dumbledore smiled softly at me. I nodded, not trusting my stomach to not take advantage of my open mouth. I sped out of there and down the corridors, hoping Madame Pomfrey had something for throwing up.

Izzy Pov

I watched my twin go with a worried grimace. I turned to Dumbledore. "She never told me that happened..."

"You two have divorced parents, correct? They are both purebloods?" Dumbledore asked gently, and I nodded. "Why, if I may ask, did they divorce?"

"They..." My dream came flooding back to me and I winced, "never really agreed."

"Ah."

I nodded akwardly, looking around the room nonchalantly and begging he wouldn't ask me to tell him my story. He did, and I inwardly groaned.

"Um... well, her name was Cynthia Bloom. She was really nice, actually. Her hair was long- about to her waist, and it was this rich bronze shade. Her eyes stood out- they were really bright blue. I always thought she was really pretty, too. She was short, but skinny. We were partnered for a Science project –at a muggle school, of course, because I didn't know about witches and wizards existing then- and we just kind of agreed on everything, and when we finished our project early, we talked about stuff. Girl stuff..." I added the last part, almost embarressedly. "She didn't fade like Alyx's friend did, but... she told me she wanted me to meet some people. They didn't look nice, or like anyone you'd want to mess with. She took me aside after meeting them –I just said 'hi', and they didn't reply, they just stared at me- and she told me she was going to show me something, but I couldn't tell anyone."

"Was it the 'tattoo' your sister described?"

I nodded, knowing what Alyx felt like when she explained it. "But when I saw it I didn't freak out. It was a few weeks later and I'd tried to avoid her, because I felt like she was crazy or something. She caught up to me afterschool and confronted me. We talked, but I tried to stay a few feet away from her the whole time. She noticed and tried to grab my arm... and I... I blanked out. I just kind of... yelled something. I can't even remember what that was. The next thing I knew she was on the ground... eyes rolled back... not breathing..." Why couldn't I stop talking? "I-It scared me, to say the least..."

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Why don't you go check on your sister and head off to class? The Thestrals are not to be feared." He smiled pleasently. "But doesn't it feel better getting it off your chest and out into the open?"

I laughed chokily, remembering Alyx's doubled over form coughing up her meal. No, it didn't help.

"Thank you, Professor," I smiled and hurried to the Hospital Wing. I found my sister sitting crosslegged on the bed with a wastebasket in front of her, looking sickly pale.

"You okay?" I smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

She looked over at me with a weak smile. "I'm sorry you had to hear that..." She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head frantically. "God... I'm a freaking murderer..."

I gaped, and then grabbed her shoulders feircely. "No you're not!" I yelled, not caring when Madame Pomfrey and the two other patients in the room looked over in surprise. "You can't say that- _don't _say that! That's..." I looked into her eyes. "Don't say that."

She looked shocked for a few minutes, but smiled softly. "Thanks, sis."

"You over your mental breakdown?" I grinned and she mirrored me.

"Yeah- what class do we have right now?"

"Well, lunch is being finished as we speak, so Arithmancy," I replied shortly, grimacing. "We missed lunch."

She glared at me, gesturing to her wastebasket. "Yeah, because lunch would help a lot!"

I laughed, and she gave the wastebasket to Madame Pomfrey, who looked utterly disgusted, but glad Alyx felt better.

"You sure you're alright, dear?" She asked with a motherly tone. Alyx smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, thanks Madame Pomfrey!"

We made it just in time for Arithmancy and plopped down in our seats, trying to be unnoticed. That didn't work very well.

"What creature did you see?" One girl asked eagerly.

"Are you faking it to get attention?" A boy pressed.

"Wha-?" I stuttered, overwhelmed by all the attention. "No! We wouldn't do that."

"Okay, break it up!" A voice boomed. "Go to your seats!"

I looked up and saw the teacher heading to his desk, and gaped.

"Is he...?" I began in awe.

"What the...?" Alyx looked slightly creeped out.

"Is he a ghost?" Alyx and I whispered in disbelief.

"Yeah," A voice next to us whispered. I looked over to see the boy from before- the one who had told us the time that morning. "He died in his sleep and just left his body. He didn't know he died until a few hours or days after."

"Oh, that is _cool!_" Alyx nodded, grinning.

"What's your name?" I asked the boy. He smiled.

"I'm Remus Lupin," He stuck out a pale hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," I smiled back. "I'm Isabelle Syaverie- but call me Izzy."

"Ooh, introductions?" Alyx jumped at the chance. "I'm Alyxandra, but unless you want to die, call me Alyx!" Despite the dire threat, Alyx was grinning happily.

"Nice to meet you, Alyx," Remus shook her hand, too. A pair of good-looking boys leaned over the desks behind us.

"Make new friends, Remus?" They grinned at us.

"Alyx, Izzy, this is James Potter," He gestured to the messy-haired, glasses-wearing boy. I had to admit- he was pretty cute. Remus then gestured to the other boy, who had inky black hair that fell over his stormy eyes slightly. "And this is Sirius Black."

"Nice to meet you," Sirius grabbed Alyx's hand and winked at her, and the first thought that went through my head was _ooh, bad move. _

"I want my hand back," Alyx grinned dangerously. Sirius blinked and pulled back, chuckling. James laughed.

"Miss Syaverie," Professor Binns looked at the twins. "Can you repeat what I just said?"

The twin girls- not being able to hold back- grinned. "Which one of us are you talking to?"

"Both of you."

"We can't answer at the same time," Alyx smiled calmly.

I mirrored her, and took the same pose as her to make us mirror images. "So you have to choose one of us."

"Erm... Alexandra, can you repeat what I just said?"

"Which one of us is Alyx?" I asked, barely moving to keep from giving it away.

"Uh..."

"You don't know?" Alyx laughed.

Professor Binns flushed and ignored them, continuing his speech.

"Nice," James commented, trying to muffle his laughter.

"Thanks," Alyx and I synced, still grinning.

That class passed oh, so boringly. We quickly headed to our next class, then the next, then the next, then the next. We went through those boringly agonizing classes until dinner came.

As we walked through the halls, I turned to Alyx. "You okay for dinner?"

"Ugh- yes! I'm starved!" Alyx moaned, clutching her snarling stomach.

"Well, that's not very good, is it?" An arm slung around Alyx's shoulders followed by a chuckle at Alyx's sudden stiffening.

"Move it or lose it, Black," She gritted her teeth. "Literally."

Sirius laughed and removed his arm, and Remus and James joined us. Remus walked next to Alyx while I walked in between Sirius and James. As we walked into the Great Hall, Alyx groaned in pleasure.

"Oh, God... FOOD!" She collapsed at a table and stared at the plates expectantly. "Food... Food... Food..."

Sirius and James laughed so hard they doubled over and Remus shook his head, letting out a light chuckle.

"Alyx is evidently very hungry." I shrugged, sitting next to her and staring at the plates with her.

"You two are weird," Remus remarked.

"Hi, guys!" another boy waddled up to us. He was chubby, but still cute.

"Hey, Peter," Remus smiled, and James and Sirius were still getting over the oddness Alyx and I submitted to the ozone.

"Where is the food!?" Alyx was obviously getting antsy.

"Geez!" Sirius laughed, sitting across from Alyx. James sat next to him. Peter sat next to James and Remus sat next to me. Sirius turned to me. "Is she always like this?"

"Only when she's hungry. You do NOT want to get in her way when she's hungry. You block her food and you die. I've seen it happen."

"Dad grounded me for the longest time." Alyx nodded, not taking her eyes off of the snowy white plates.

Dumbledore's speech passed breezily and right when the food appeared on the table, Alyx pounced. She gobbled up the turkey and a whole loaf of bread, and then moved onto the ribs. When dessert appeared, Alyx ate up the crembrule and the fudge right away, soon moving onto the chocolate malts.

"How can you eat all of that?" Sirius stared at her in disbelief.

"My stomach is an active black hole. Anything I eat won't take up space." Alyx shrugged, smiling blissfully.

"Huh..." I murmured, "I just noticed something."

"What?" Alyx looked at me.

"Today is Friday. Why would you start school on a Friday? The week end is right after that- do we need a break that early?"

"Oh... That _is_ weird. Oh well," Alyx shrugged, standing up slowly. "Ugh, I've got to work off this meal. Anyone up for a nighttime run?"

"I am!" I hopped up, grinning goofily.

"It'll be past curfew by the time you get to the lake," Remus noted. "Then you'll have to get by Filch."

"So?" Alyx laughed. "We won't get caught."

"How can you be so sure?"

Alyx and I exchanged smug looks. "We've never been caught."

After a few moments of proud silence,

"Well, I'll be going now. I need to go run this off. Later, peeps!" Alyx spun and ran out of the Great Hall with me on her heels. We didn't bother to look back and see if they were following.

3rd Pov

Alyx's breathing was hard as her arms pumped by her sides. Izzy had gotten tired and was sitting nearby. Alyx insisted they stay out for a few more minutes.

The moon smiled down at Alyx, who looked up at it and grinned. For one second the image of Jordan Luthi passed through her mind. She winced. _Jordan was just misled... I just didn't get to him in time. _Alyx thought sadly. He was just misled, she knew that. But it was her fault she didn't give him her friendship soon enough. She remembered their first meeting, that fateful day she'd had enough of the teasing.

"_What's with your eyes, Luthi?" A pair of bullys sneered. They were big with snarls on their face, laughing as Jordan tensed. It was recess for the sixth graders, and Alyx was a few feet away on the basketball court, listening to the bullys in distaste. _

"_You wearing contacts, freak?" The other bully cackled. _

"_But seriously, look at Luthi's eyes!" The first bully shouted to the whole sixth grade that had gathered around. "That can't be real. They're too deformed." Everyone erupted into laughter and Alyx's eyes narrowed. _

"_Why don't you just shut your trap, Simmons?" Alyx spoke up, leaning back nonchalantly. Now all the attention was on her. _

"_What'd you say?" The bully named Kevin Simmons asked dangerously. His brother –the second bully- was named Keith Simmons, and he snarled next to his brother. Jordan was looking at Alyx in surprise. _

"_Ugh- I really need to repeat myself to you? Fine. I said, 'why don't you just shut your trap, Simmons?'" _

"_You better just walk away before you get hurt, princess." Kevin snarled._

"What _did you call me?" Alyx looked at him head on dangerously slowly, a hard glare in her eyes. _

"_Oh, we seemed to strike a nerve." Keith grinned toothily. _

"_Shut up, pinhead." Alyx rolled her eyes. "If I'm going to waste my time one you two, then I might as well only waste it on the one who I know might be a threat." _

"_Oh, I'm a threat?" Kevin grinned as nastily as his brother. _

"_No... Not so much. But you still get on my nerves." Alyx cracked her knuckles. "So you either leave now and don't bother Jordan again, or I'll beat you up myself. Seriously." _

"_Ha, _you_? Beat _me_ up?" Kevin cackled. "But you're a _girl_." _

_Alyx snapped, lunging for Kevin. She pulled his arm behind his back and placed her heel on his back, pressing him down. He shrieked. _

"_You're teasing me about being a girl and yet you can't even lay a blow on me? How pathetic." Alyx sighed, throwing him to the floor and jabbing a finger at him. "You better cut the crap, because I won't take anymore of it. And I certainly won't let you dish it out to others, either." Alyx turned on her heel and walked off of the playground. _

_Jordan stared after her, then tried to catch up, soon suceeding. _

"_Why'd you do that?" He looked down at Alyx- even as tall as Alyx was; he was still a bit taller than her. _

"_Because I've had enough of that idiot's crap." She shrugged, smiling up at Jordan. "And you seem nice- you didn't deserve teasing about something that isn't your fault." _

_Jordan smiled so suddenly Alyx's breath caught. "Thanks. You're Alyxandra Syaverie, right?" _

_Alyx nodded. "That's my name." _

"_Maybe we could hang out afterschool sometime... maybe?" Jordan flushed as he said this. _

_Alyx blused, too. The pink painted itself across her face and she smiled sheepishly. "That'd be cool." She said simply, trying to be cool. _

_Jordan smiled with relief that she hadn't laughed at him. "Okay. We should get back to class." _

_Alyx nodded, "yeah. We should." _

_Jordan smiled and he and Alyx made their way back to the school building. _

Alyx stopped running suddenly and stared into the lake. Where was Jordan now? Where was he burried? Alyx hadn't ever found out- she didn't think she wanted to. It would be too much.

But that hadn't ever stopped Alyx before. She wanted to know, and nothing was going to stop her from finding out. But maybe Dumbledore was looking right now. Maybe...

"Alyx!" Izzy called, standing up. Alyx could barely make out her silhouette.

"What?" Alyx yelled back, realizing she was on the other side of the lake.

"We should get back- curfew is nine o' clock and its ten fifteen!"

"Oh... crap." Alyx shook her head, starting to run around the lake to meet up with her sister. "Let's go!" They ran quickly up the steps of Hogwarts, being silent as possible. They crept around the corridors and when they finally faced the fact they couldn't see as well as preferred, Alyx held up her wand and murmured, "_Lumos._" The tip of the want shone as if a mini Tinkerbell was sitting upon it. Alyx giggled at that thought.

Alyx noticed a fat brown thing creeping around the side of the hall, and then realized Izzy was about to step on it.

"Izzy!" Alyx hissed, pulling her sister back.

"What?" Izzy looked at Alyx in surprise.

"Filch's cat! Look." Alyx pointed at the cat, which sneered and sped off. "Going to get Filch, no doubt. We've got to go!" The two girls ran as fast as their feet would carry them, muttering the password to the Fat Lady and diving inside the portrait hole.

"Oh... God! Running around the lake and then running through a maze-like school. How much more can I take?" Alyx huffed, flopping back on the sofa. She jumped up in surprise when she realized someone was already on it.

"You're heavier than you look." Sirius Black commented, grinning and brushing away a few strands of hair that fell into his cloudy eyes.

"Don't _do _that!" Alyx breathed, but then realized what he said. "Hey! I am not! I don't weigh that much. Its gravity- it hates you."

Sirius rolled his eyes. James, Peter, and Remus were sprawled out on the floor.

"You guys waited for us...?" Izzy guessed, nudging James's cheek with her foot. He stirred, but just rolled over, drooling.

"Yeah- we would've joined you, but McGonagall was watching us like a hawk."

"Oh," Alyx nodded slowly, shoving Sirius's feet off of the couch and sitting where they had recently occupied. "So _that's _why you didn't come. No wonder."

James made a funny noise and bolted up, looking around. His eyes settled on the twin girls and he smiled. "Ooh, you got back without Filch catching you?"

"We never get caught." Alyx repeated smugly.

"I guess you don't..."

"How was your run?" Sirius asked Alyx, who stretched with a smile.

"Fantastic," She sighed blissfully. "I had time to... think things over."

Izzy frowned. "What things?"

"Just things." Alyx shrugged.

Izzy paused. "_Those _things?"

Alyx nodded, smiling feintly. She yawned and stretched. She looked over at Sirius. "Hey, can you get up for a sec?"

Sirius shrugged and stood up. The moment Sirius left the couch Alyx swung her legs onto it and grabbed the blanket draped over the couch, cocooning herself inside a circle of blanket. "Mm... Thanks Sirius!"

"You aren't actually going to sleep there, are you?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Why yes, yes I am."

"Idiot."

Alyx smirked. "Baka."

Sirius frowned and turned to Izzy. "What the bloody hell is a 'baka'?"

"Baka means idiot in Japanese." Izzy rolled her eyes.

"... Oh."

"Alyx..." Izzy poked her sister's cheek. "Come on. You can't sleep here."

"Why not? I'm perfectly comfertable."

Izzy turned to Sirius. "Sirius?"

He grinned and nodded in understanding and lifted Alyx from the couch and hoisted her over his shoulder. She squeaked and tried to get him to put her down.

"No~pe!" Sirius sang, taking the first step on the Girl's dormitry stairs before slipping on the slide it turned into at the prescence of a boy trying to get up the Girl's dormitry stairs.

"You idiot..." Alyx groaned after they toppled over. "Ow... that hurt...!"

"Well... since you're close to the dorms, anyway, you might as well just go up." Izzy shrugged, stepping on the stairs –which had turned back after Sirius and Alyx had fallen.

Alyx grunted before pushing herself off the floor and up after her twin. "Bye, guys!" She called before completely disappearing.

Sirius watched her go, and heard James chuckle. "What- you like Alyx, Sirius?" He asked slyly. Sirius blinked before shaking his head feircely.

"Why settle with one girl when you can have 'em all?" Sirius shrugged, grinning.

"Mate, that's messed up," James laughed, before turning to Remus and Peter, who were still asleep. "Should we wake 'em up?"

Sirius pondered before shaking his head with a grin. "Nah."

Alyx's eyes met blinding sunlight and she squinted. "Augh." Her head was pounding. She rolled over and met the floor with a loud thump. "Ah!"

"Alyx! Shuddap! You are so _loud_!" Izzy moaned from her bed on the other side of the room. "Really!"

Alyx scowled and stumbled over to her dresser, drunken from lack of sleep. She threw her robes on and staggered down the staircase, collapsing in a small loveseat.

"Well good morning to you, too." A voice said from in front of her. She'd closed her eyes, and didn't care to open them when the person spoke.

"What do you want, Sirius?"

"How'd you know it was me right away?" Sirius sounded like he was pouting.

"Your cocky attitude is too hard to miss," Alyx shrugged, but opened one eye and smiled up at him.

"Where's Izzy?" Remus asked. He, James, Sirius, and Peter had grouped by her chair, seeing as there was nothing better to do.

"What time is it?" Alyx ignored his question.

"Ten fifty eight." Peter piped up, and Alyx groaned.

"Too early!"

"Do you like pranks, Alyx?" James asked suddenly.

"Ran~dom!" Alyx giggled groggily. "Yep! I do!"

"Guys, I think Alyx is still a little tired..." Remus chuckled amusedly.

"Nuh-uh!" Alyx giggled sleepily again.

"I know what'll wake her up." Sirius grinned evily, which went unnoticed by only Alyx, who was laughing childishly and playing with her hands.

"Sirius..." Remus said in warning tone. He knew Alyx was capable of hurting Sirius badly if she wanted to- and Remus had the feeling he was going to do something that was going to make her want him dead.

"Don't worry, Remmy!" Sirius chirped, once again tossing Alyx over his shoulder. He ran breezily down the hill and tossed Alyx easily into the lake. Even underwater, you could hear the angry screech Alyx emmited.

When she finally surfaced, she shook with anger, and Sirius thought _oh, shit. _

"_SIRIUS BLACK!!_" She screamed. "_I AM GOING TO SLAUGHTER YOU!!"_

Sirius spoke his thought aloud, "oh, shit." And then he did the only sensalble thing he'd done since meeting her.

Sirius Orion Black ran like hell.

* * *

**OH... MY... GOD **

**Longest chapter I've ever written! **

**ANYWAY hope you like it...!!**


	3. Benefits

**Hiya! I just wanted to add something before you read this chapter. I realized (thanks to a very helpful review) that my characters acted... not 11. More like 14-16. I apologize for that greatly. I'm so used to writing about 14-16 year olds I get caught up in how they act! So I hope you like it even with the more "aged" characters! :)**

* * *

A soaked teen burst into the Gryffindor common rooms, looking murderous.

She marched up to the messy haired, glasses wearing boy and snarled, "Where. Is. He."

"U-uh..." James tried to cover his face. "Don't hurt me!"

"Tell me where that bastard is."

"In the library!"

Alyx scoffed. "I'm not stupid. That prat would not be in a library even if his pranking career depended on it."

"I'm serious!" James gasped for air, because Alyx was strangling him with fire in her eyes. "No- I mean, I'm not joking! He went the one place you wouldn't look!"

Alyx sighed, releasing James. He fell to the floor with a thud and she glared down at him, her hair in soggy strands. "Okay. But if you're lying, I'm going to kill you, too." With that, she sped through the halls, making a beeline for the library. Surprisingly enough, Sirius _was _in the library...

... Hiding behind a pile of old, unused parchment.

"Please... please... please..." He silently begged she wouldn't look in the library. Alyx grinned evilly.

"Oh, Sirius~!" She called in a sickly sweet voice. "I know you're here~! Aw, you hide from me~?"

Suddenly, she was next to him, and he freaked out, screaming and scrambling backwards.

"Come on, Alyx... let's be ra... rat... ration... rational. Yeah- that's the word."

"Aw, you're an idiot even when you're scared..." Alyx giggled with a deadly edge. "That only makes me want to kill you more~!" Alyx pounced, pulling at his hair and screeching hexes. Only a few hit him, but they were meaningful. His hair turned a neon rainbow, his teeth turned inky black, and his robes turned bright orange. Lastly, something that looked awfully like mosquito bites sprouted on his skin, and he itched mercilessly, looking up at a now smiling pleasantly Alyx.

"Good," She said sweetly. "Now I can go back to hating you just like before!" She spun and nearly skipped out of the room, leaving a confused and slightly blushing Sirius behind.

He put a hand to his face in hope of covering the blooming redness. Why was he blushing? For God's sake, he just met the girl! She was a friend.

_Yes, _Sirius thought, _just a friend. Plenty of cuter girls here, anyway. _

Sirius stood and walked slowly back to the common rooms, not even noticing how the other students giggled and laughed at his rainbow-neon appearance.

"_Caw~!_" The song of a bird played in the air around the lake. Alyx had refused to go near it, but Izzy was sitting close to it, her toes grazing the water as it lapped up against the shore. A gentle voice sounded behind her.

"Hey, Izzy," Remus sat next to her, looking out at the lake. Izzy stared at him for a few seconds. She noticed faded scars across his neck, and frowned. She looked into his gold-flecked eyes and felt hot, then realized those eyes were boring into hers. "Izzy? Are you okay? Your face is red."

Izzy squeaked, putting her hands to her face and giggling nervously. "O-oh, that's cause it's so hot out here, don't you think?"

"It's certainly warm... but... I don't think it's _that_ hot. You sure you're okay? We can go up to the Hospital Wing right now, if you want." Remus offered, putting a hand on her arm. She felt light headed- but why? Remus was a friend. But... he _was _cute.

_Augh! How can I think that!? _Izzy shook her head frantically, and smiled shakily at Remus. "No- no. I'm okay. Really. Thanks, though." She knew the blush that had grown to the roots of her hair was dying down.

Remus frowned but accepted it.

"So- uh, Remus," Izzy breathed in, reminding herself that breathing was important. "What're your parents like?" She didn't know why she'd let those words spill out- and she instantly regretted it when Remus turned away sharply, pain in his eyes. He tried to hide it by a smile, but refused to look at her.

"My dad died when I was little." Remus sighed heavily.

"I'm-" Izzy stopped herself. Was she really going to say sorry? That would be the worst thing to do! If Izzy's father had died (she felt guilty at the small spark of hope that rose in her chest) she wouldn't want people to be apologizing. Instead, Izzy put a comforting hand on his back. "That really sucks," she said tentatively, smiling softly when Remus looked at her in surprise. He was only shocked she hadn't apologized. Everyone else would.

"Y-yeah..." Remus still looked a bit stunned, but didn't say anything. "What about you? You and Alyx seem happy- your family must be close for you two to have such high spirits all the time."

"Ah," Izzy laughed sadly. Remus caught that and looked her way curiously. "My dad hates me. He loves Alyx, though, and I guess that's okay, considering I love Alyx, too." They both watched Alyx run around in circles around the tree as James chased her, looking evil. They both chuckled.

"What about your mom?" Remus didn't mean to pry, but he couldn't help it. He was hooked.

"Oh, she loves me. But she hates Alyx. But Alyx is okay with that- I'm not sure if it's the same reason as mine. You see, when we were little our parents... got divorced in a much _uncivilized _manner. They didn't really sign anything for months, not wanting to be in a ten foot radius of eachother. They just kind of claimed one of us and took us away. Alyx and I didn't see each other for, like, three years after that. It sucked."

"Oh... Izzy... God." Remus chuckled dryly. "I don't want to say I'm sorry, because I know why you didn't, but I can't help it- Izzy, I'm so sorry."

Izzy shrugged. "That's okay."

"How is it you can be so happy?"

Izzy shot a loving glance at Alyx, who was flopped next to James, exhaustedly grinning. Izzy sighed. "Its Alyx's fault- you cant be unhappy with her around. She brings this... this atmosphere with her where ever she goes. You don't worry when you're with her... you don't think too hard about things you don't like... you don't do anything you don't want to. She's so understanding- you could talk to her about anything, and she'd help you through it."

Remus held back a disbelieving laugh. _She couldn't help me with my problem even if she tried._

"Remus..." Izzy looked at him, smiling softly. "You know you can trust us- me and Alyx and even the other guys, right?"

Pausing, Remus flashed a smile. "Of course I know that."

"Well..." Izzy sighed, shaking her head. "Okay, I guess that's good enough for now. But one day, Remus Lupin, I'm going to get you to trust me more than anyone else." She gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth.

_Oh... shit! Did I say that out loud? _

Remus nodded, eyes wide.

"Oh, god, I said that out loud, too!?"

"Y-yeah."

"Uh..." Izzy grinned like a child caught trying to get into the Cookie Jar and sprung up. "See you later, Remus!" She sped off and dragged her sister with her.

Remus went to join Peter, James, and Sirius. They shot him confused looks.

"What happened, mate?" James glanced back up at where the girls had disappeared to and back to Remus. He simply shrugged nonchalantly, but his shoulders were stiff.

"Nothing." He looked up at the castle and smiled softly. "Nothing at all."

"Izzy! Izzy, hold up!" Alyx yelped at the tourniquet-like grip her sister had on her wrist.

Isabelle stopped suddenly, panting. It was then Alyx saw her sister's heart-shaped face was smothered in crimson blush, a nervous smile edging onto her lips.

"Did something happen with Remus...?" Alyx wasn't good with feelings and mushy gushy stuff- growing up with a hard-core father was like that.

"Of course something happened!" Izzy gulped down tears of embarrassment. She'd practically confessed her newly-found crush! "Would I be like this if something _didn't _happen!?"

"Uh... no?" Alyx was _definitely _uncomfortable.

"_Ding, ding, ding _we have a winner!" Isabelle glared at her twin.

"Okay... then tell me what happened." Alyx suggested. Isabelle sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Alyx," She began in a dangerously low voice, "you don't just come out and tell people about what could be the most embarrassing moment of your _life_."

"What do you want me to do?"

"What do you think you should do, Alyx?" Isabelle sighed. "I don't decide for you."

Alyx gulped down a tense lump in her throat. She'd been used to people telling her what to say- what to do. Her father had never let her make the decisions. That was how it'd always been. What was she supposed to say? Alyx panicked, not wanting to slip up and say the wrong thing.

"Well..." Alyx put a hand on Isabelle's shoulder, smiling softly when her twin looked up. "My attention is your's. I'll listen to whatever you have to say- but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I mean... You do, actually."

Isabelle raised an eyebrow.

"I'm your twin! I can't just brush this off, Izzy. You can talk to me- I'll listen."

Isabelle considered, and smiled softly. "Okay, Alyx, thanks." She took a deep breath and launched into her tale of what had happened.

At the end of her tale, Alyx couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. She wanted to say "Is that really that big of a deal, Izzy?" but knew it would upset her sister to no end. So instead, she said, "Remus is kind, he's forgiving. He won't hold this against you, Izzy."

"You think?" Izzy looked up, no malice in her voice.

"I know," Alyx chose that moment to grin, "I know everything."

"Shut up," Izzy laughed quietly, punching Alyx playfully. Izzy bit her lip. "What do I do when I see him again, then?"

"Act like it never happened," Alyx shrugged.

"Okay... but you can't tell anyone –_Alyxandra Syaverie I mean ANYONE_- about my... crush... on Remus Lupin. Got it?"

Alyx grinned, pretending to zip her lips shut. "What crush?"

"That's my twin!" Isabelle laughed, ruffling Alyx's hair.

"Hey! I'm older!" Alyx protested, jumping away. Isabelle frowned.

"Only by two minutes!"

"So? A lot can happen in two minutes."

Isabelle shook her head, a small smile gracing her lips. They made their way back to the Common Rooms to find the Marauders sprawled out on the floor in front of the fireplace waiting for them.

Peter and Remus were in a heated game of chess while Sirius and James plotted against Severus Snape. The twin girls frowned, remembering how much they loathed that idea- pranking Severus.

"Why do you guys do it?" Isabelle asked, nonchalantly flopping next to Remus, whose face lit up in a small pink. "Severus isn't that mean. He's only quiet."

"Yeah- he's actually really nice." Alyx supplied, plopping onto the couch next to Sirius.

"'Nice'?" James scoffed.

Sirius chuckled. "That bloke's had it in for him since he insulted me and James."

"James and I, Sirius," Isabelle absently corrected. Alyx giggled at her sister's nerdiness.

Sirius turned to her. "Truce?"

She frowned. "... What're you planning?"

Sirius blinked innocently. "Nothing, Alyx dearest."

"Hm... fine. But anything funny and you go _down_." Her threat was cold to the core before a grin plastered itself on her face. "I guess we're friends, then!"

Sirius shook his head, chuckling.

A tall Griffyndor boy came up behind Alyx and tapped her shoulder.

She turned and smiled. "Oh- hey Braydon!"

This boy's name was Braydon Macnimare. His slightly curly dirty blond hair hung around his face, slightly curling into his almond-colored eyes. His lips curved up into a sheepish smile and he chuckled nervously. "Hey- Alyx? I was thinking... uh, well, the trip to Hogsmeade is coming up..." He sighed, straightening up. "Do you want to go with me to Hogsmeade?"

Alyx blinked before grinning widely. "Sure! Of course I'll go with you." She watched him go and turned to her sister just as Isabelle squealed, jumping up to grasp her sister's hands in her own.

"Alyx! You just got asked out on a date!" Isabelle screamed girlishly. "And with _Braydon Macnimare!_"

"I know that." Alyx laughed, relieving herself of her twin's vice-like hold on her hands. She looked over at Braydon, who was with his friends, and smiled. "He is _really cute_." Alyx noted thoughtfully. "And he's funny- I also heard he could've been in Ravenclaw, but he was too determined and whole-hearted. He sounds nice."

"'_Sounds _nice'?" Isabelle quoted disbelievingly. "How can you say that when he's sitting over there, one hundred percent hunk?"

Alyx saw Remus look up slightly, but refused to show any emotion other than soft excitement. Sirius was looking utterly sour, watching Alyx fawn over Braydon.

"Hey- Izzy! I've got a fantastic idea!" Alyx jumped up. "You should go with Remus!"

Isabelle froze and Remus's head snapped up.

"_What?_" They both asked, staring at Alyx in embarrassed horror.

"Uh... I gotta go..." Alyx sped out of the room and up the girls' dormitry stairs. Remus was about to follow angrily, but Isabelle stopped him, a look of revenge lusting in her irises.

"No." She insisted with a deadly edge laced in. "Let me." She leaped up the stairs, and the slam of a door echoed. Not a second later did Alyx's shrieks sound all the way from inside the closed off room.

Alyx raced out of the room and lunged down the stairs. "Help me! Oh, dear lord help me!" She yelled as Isabelle chased behind her, angrily reaching. They ran in circles around the Marauders. Isabelle finally caught hold of Alyx's curly, Burgundy hair and tugged backwards.

"I thought you said you wouldn't say anything!!" Isabelle hissed despreatly in her ear.

"I didn't!" Alyx cried, trying to free herself of her twin's hold. But, despite the sticky situation she was in, she was smiling, on the verge of laughing. "There's a difference, Izzy!"

Isabelle let go of her sister with a dissatisfied sigh. "Fine."

"Thank you," Alyx smoothed out her robes, still grinning like a fool.

"Ugh," Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Alyx, you are such a guy sometimes!"

Alyx laughed and her sister disappeared up the stairs. Alyx giggled a heart-felt goodnight to the Marauders, but whispered something to Remus before following after her sister.

Remus blinked, Alyx's words repeating in his head.

_Ask her out to Hogsmeade. It'll have benefits. _


	4. Greek

**I'VE FINALLY DONE IT!! I'VE FINALLY MADE A BRILLIANT PLOT!**

**Okay, so I can't tell you what it is, 'cause that'd ruin it, but I SWEAR it's a fantastic plot. I can give you a hint, though:**

_**Voldemort wants the twins dead.**_

**Keep reading to find out if they die or succeed with their lives. Trust me, with me, you don't know wether they'll die or not. I'm a very mean person. One could die... both could die... someone else could die...**

**Keep reading to find out!**

* * *

This is what Alyx had expected: akward silence, occasional small-talk, and shy smiles.

This is what Alyx got: wonderful conversation starters, similarities, and bright grins.

Alyx decided that so far, her date had gone great. She was walking with Brayton into The Three Broomsticks to catch a small drink of Butterbeer. Alyx hadn't seen the Maraduers or her twin since she left Hogwarts with Brayton. But that was fine- Brayton was amazing.

"You go ahead and sit down- I'll get the Butterbeers," Brayton smiled at Alyx and she pouted.

"I should help pay!" She protested.

"Its my treat," Brayton laughed, a bright twinkle in his almond eyes. "Please, Alyx?"

"... Okay, fine." Alyx giggled, turning away and seating herself in a seat by the window.

As Brayton was getting the Butterbeer, Alyx's muggle phone vibrated vigerously. Alyx flipped it open and checked the ID before answering with a wide grin.

"Alyx!" The excited chirp made Alyx laugh.

"Hey, Izzy!" Alyx replied giddily.

"How's your _date _going?"

"Fabulous," Alyx immediately said. "He's so nice! And funny, and cute, and nice!"

"Ooh, sounds like love."

"Not just yet. I need to get to know Brayton first. But, I am definitely hooked in this guy. He's amazing, Izzy, he really is."

"That's amazing Alyx," Izzy complimented. Alyx heard her hesitate before asking timidly, "Hey- what'd you do?"

"Huh?"

"Remus asked me to Hogsmeade- what'd you do? You didn't threaten him or anything, right?" Izzy sounded frantic. "Because if you did-"

"I didn't, Izzy." Alyx promised. "I just gave him the simple advice to ask you out."

"... What were your exact words?"

Alyx sighed, annoyed, but quoted herself. "'Ask her out to Hogsmeade. It'll have benefits.'"

"Those exact words?"

"Yes, Izzy."

"Oh..." A silent pause engulfed the conversation, and Alyx worried her sister was angry with her, but knew that wasn't the case when the exclamation came. "Thank you, Alyx! Thanks so much! Remus and I are having _so much fun!_"

Alyx laughed and Brayton made his way back to Alyx. "That's great, sis! I've gotta go. See you later."

"'Kay. Bye!" Izzy added before hanging up, "thanks again!"

Brayton sat across from Alyx and handed her a butterbeer. "Here you go." He smiled warmly. "So was that your sister?"

"Uh-huh." Alyx sipped her butterbeer and her eyes widened as she licked her lips hungrily.

Brayton laughed. "You like it? Have you never tasted butterbeer before?"

Alyx shook her head. "I've never _ever _had something like this! I was raised like any other muggle, even though I'm pureblood."

"That's cool." Brayton nodded. With a sheepish smile, he added, "I'm a pureblood, too."

"Lots of purebloods nowadays, aren't there?" Alyx joked. "It's like we're multiplying."

Brayton chuckled, taking a sip of his own butterbeer.

Brayton and Alyx continued their little date, discussing Quiddich and such. Alyx was totally hooked on Brayton, and she didnt want to be let go anytime soon.

*

Izzy's face was flushed a brilliant bright red. She walked hand in hand with Remus Lupin through the crowds. "Its so we don't get lost." He'd said, but Izzy felt gratitude and flatter at the light blush gracing his own cheeks.

They'd been wandering around window-shopping for hours, just gawking at all the wonderfull shops and sights.

After a while, Remus and Izzy decided to head back to the castle. Alyx had texted Izzy saying she was heading back with Brayton. When Remus and Izzy met up with Sirius, James, and Peter, Sirius wasn't too happy about that.

"Ooh, is Sirius _jealous?_" James teased.

"Sod off," Sirius shoved James and James fell back, rocking back on his heels laughing.

"C'mon, mate," James patted Sirius's back, "it's all in good fun."

"Eh," Sirius made it clear he'd heard James without giving a proficent response. _Typical Sirius_, thought Izzy. She inwardly smirked. _But it's cute he's jealous of Braydon._

The Marauders and Izzy got back to the Common Room and found a shocking sight.

Braydon was leaning against the wall, one arm wrapped securely around Alyx's waist and the other caressing her cheek. His eyes were shut and he leaned over slightly, even though Alyx was the same height. Alyx was leaning into Braydon, one hand on his right forearm and the other on his left hip. Her eyes, too, were shut. It shocked the five witnesses senseless.

"Alyx!" Izzy lunged forward, pulling her sister out of the loving kiss she was sharing with Braydon. "Oh, my God! A kiss! On your first date!"

Alyx flushed. "Izzy, _shut up._"

"Oh, got it." Izzy nodded seriously, but couldn't help herself. She looked over at Braydon, who was akwardly rubbing the back of his neck. He'd pushed off from the wall and was staring at the floor with a bright red blush painted over his cheeks. Izzy squealed, jumping forward and hugging Alyx. As the twins pointlessly hugged, Izzy murmured, "Was that your first kiss?"

"What?" Alyx whispered back, astonished. "Of course not. But I have to admit, I've never kissed any boy like _that _before. That was... that was amazing. I've been on tons of dates, too." After a thought, Alyx added. "Dad, of course, didn't know about them. I wouldn't be here if he did. I'd be locked up in my room for eternity. Trust me."

"You sneaky little twit," Izzy giggled, before grabbing her sister's hand and tugging her upstairs. Before the two girls disappeared, Izzy grinned at the boys in the common room. "Alyx and I need to have some _girl talk_. G'night, boys!"

"See you tomorrow, Braydon!" Alyx yelled before she was tugged into the dorm the twins shared.

Sirius was staring at Braydon in shock and anger and worst of all- _envy. _How dare he snog the only girl that _didn't _seem to be hopelessly in love with him (Other than Izzy)? It wasn't fair. Not fair at all. For the past three days Sirius had been trying to get out of the attention of every girl in the school- except one. And that one had just gotten a good kiss from this... this other guy! Sirius couldn't lie- Braydon had looks. And he was popular. He was also smart and funny. All the girls loved him. Not as much as they loved Sirius, but they loved Braydon enough.

Sirius couldn't believe he was jealous.

James looked extremely uncomfertable. "Uh.... I'm off to bed, then."

He quickly exited the scene with Peter scrambling after him. Remus shot an apologetic grimace at Braydon and followed. That left Sirius and Braydon. Alone.

Sirius leveled Braydon with a glare, and when Braydon looked up again, he jumped.

"Uh..." Braydon looked around until his eyes accidentally rested on Sirius's smokey ones.

_What'd I do? _Braydon wondered nervously.

"So... You snuck out to Hogsmeade, too?" Braydon tried to make small-talk, but Sirius's glare hardened, making it as cold as stone.

"I don't trust you," He stated.

"Trust me...? What?" Braydon fought back the urge to laugh.

"If you hurt Alyx, you'll regret it." Sirius said blankly. "Big time."

"Hurt Alyx?" Braydon repeated. "Why would I hurt her?"

Sirius shrugged before tossing Braydon a cold, "g'night, then." Sirius headed for the stairs, leaving Braydon to stare after him with a confused grimace.

*

Alyx and Izzy walked happily down the halls of Hogwarts, heading to their first class, when an arm shot out of nowhere and grabbed Izzy firmly around her forearm. Izzy gasped and spun, then relaxed when she saw it was only Mr. Hinkle, their current Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. They'd said he was only a substitute, but he seemed nice overall.

"Mr. Hinkle," Alyx said in surprise, "what are you doing here? Don't you have a class to teach?"

"Yes- yes I do, but would you girls mind coming to my class after dinner?" After a pause and a kind smile, he murmured, "It's important, girls."

"Oh, uh, sure," Izzy shrugged, and her gaze went down to her forearm. "But... could you let go of my arm?"

"Huh-?" looked down and gasped, quickly releasing his firm grasp. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Isabelle."

"No problem, Mr. Hinkle."

Izzy and Alyx made their way quickly to class. They walked in casually and were surprised to see they weren't late.

As they sat, Izzy found herself thinking about Mr. Hinkle. He was a handsome man. His honey colored hair and his bright green eyes made him look like a dapper young man. Izzy wasn't actually sure how old Mr. Hinkle was, though. Mr. Hinkle was tall and muscular.

The day passed with the twins wanting to just go to Mr. Hinkle's class. When they got to his class, he didn't treat them any better than he treated the class. Not that he treated the class bad- Mr. Hinkle was probably one of the school's most loved teachers. Other than a few others.

Finally, the end of the day arrived, and the twins seperated from the Marauders to go see Mr. Hinkle.

When they entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts room, no one was inside. Alyx and Izzy decided to sit at the desks in the front while they waited.

"So, you talk to Braydon yet?" Izzy asked interestedly.

"No, not since... uh... last night." Alyx couldn't help but flush brightly.

"You totally should." Izzy nodded, grinning. "I think he really likes you."

"Dude, Izzy, we're _eleven_ _years old._" Alyx pointed out.

"Yeah, but-"

Alyx never found out what Izzy's "but" was about, because Mr. Hinkle hurried into the room with two glasses of a purple colored substance. It wasn't your average purple drink. It was a thick purple color with a few white bubbles stuck to the corner. It looked as though it had fizzed.

"I just thought you girls shouldn't go without at least a drink from the Great Hall," Mr. Hinkle smiled and turned to his desk to get something, and Alyx took the chance.

"Izzy," Alyx said in warning tone before her sister could take a sip, "don't drink. Nothing like this is in the Great Hall. I would know."

Izzy looked at her sister consideringly before shrugging and setting it on the desk like Alyx had, vowing not to take a single sip. Mr. Hinkle turned to the girls with a warm smile.

"How are you girls?" He asked, inspecting their expressions closely.

Izzy knew Alyx would want to be the only one to talk- to figure out why they were here, so Izzy kept silent. Alyx pushed off from the desk she was leaning on and stood straight.

"We're fine," She replied bluntly, "and you?"

"I am very pleasant," Mr. Hinkle said. "Have either of you girls heard the story of You-Know-Who?"

"No." Alyx frowned. "Mr. Hinkle, why did you call us here today?"

Mr. Hinkle sighed. "καθρέφτηs εικόνα συναντώ έναs έγκαιρα θάνατος μέσα κοίλος hallsHe ποιόs γνωρίζω όχι sin μα τραγικός is the culprit."

"Huh?" Izzy didn't speak Greek, but she could tell Mr. Hinkle was fluent by Alyx's eyes widening.

"What you just said..." Alyx murmured.

Mr. Hinkle looked at Alyx with a stricken expression. "You understood what I said? You speak Greek?"

"Yeah, a bit," Alyx's eyes narrowed at Mr. Hinkle. "'_καθρέφτηs εικόνα συναντώ έναs έγκαιρα θάνατος μέσα κοίλος hallsHe ποιόs γνωρίζω όχι sin μα τραγικός is the culprit.'_" Alyx turned to Izzy. "He said, 'mirror images meet a timely death in hollowed halls. He who knows not sin but tragedy is the culprit.'"

"Mirror images?" Izzy looked at Mr. Hinkle. "You mean... You don't mean us, do you, sir?"

Before Mr. Hinkle could respond, Alyx spoke harshly. "What do you mean, 'mirror images meet a timely death'? We're not in danger."

"Oh, I know," Mr. Hinkle said quickly. "It was only a... a phrase, if you will."

"No- wait," Alyx breathed, "why should we believe what you say?"

"I don't wish to hurt you," Mr. Hinkle looked sincere, "you can trust me."

"Trust you, can we?"

Mr. Hinkle nodded, smiling softly.

"I don't think," Alyx said with a determined expression, "trusting someone who just tried to kill us is smart."

"What?" Izzy gasped in surprise. "He tried to kill us?"

"Those drinks," Alyx nodded toward her untouched beverage. "I've never seen those in the hall- and I eat _everything_. Never leave a food untouched. Such a waste. Those purple drinks weren't there any of the times we've had breakfast, lunch, or dinner." Alyx looked furious. "You tried to poisen us."


	5. No!

"May I have a moment alone with your sister, Isabelle?" Mr. Hinkle didn't take his eyes off of Alyx.

"Wha-?" Izzy looked stricken. "No way! You just tried to kill us! I sure as hell won't leave you alone with-"

"Isabelle," Alyx said in a warning tone. Izzy jumped. Alyx hadn't ever called her Isabelle without joking, unless they were seeing eachother again.

"Alyx...?"

"Leave, but just for now. Don't tell the Marauders about this. Don't tell anyone about this." Alyx didn't take her eyes off of Mr. Hinkle. "I've got to speak with our dear teacher."

Izzy stared at Alyx, considering. "Fine," Izzy caved, and then shot her sister a warning glare, "but if you get yourself killed, I'm going to kill you."

Alyx rolled her eyes, but nodded once, stiffly. Izzy made her way to the door, looked back, and disappeared from sight. Her footsteps echoed around the room. Once her footfall had succumed, Mr. Hinkle spoke.

"So you don't intend to tell anyone." It wasn't a question.

"I've got my own circumstances."

Mr. Hinkle stared at Alyx consideringly before his lips parted and the wonderful flow of Greek words spilled out. "Κάνω you αλήθεια λεπτός Dumbledore θα ας κάποιος whose αφορμή λυκάνθρωπος σκοτώνω δικός του φοιτητήs να είμαι έναs καθηγητήs?"Mr. Hinkle cocked his head to one side. "Did you understand that?"

"Yes," Alyx recited his words, "'do you really think Dumbledore would let someone whose motive was to kill his students be a professor?'"

"Do you?"

"I think Dumbledore is off his rocker."

Mr. Hinkle let out a chuckle.

"You work for _him_, don't you?" Alyx knew that was an idiotic question, but she had to get it out in the open. "You're intentions- they're to kill Izzy and me."

Mr. Hinkle pursed his lips. "How about this," he suggested, "you ask any yes or no question and I'll answer truthfully. I will only answer yes or no questions."

"Fine," Alyx shrugged. She thought for a moment before saying: "Are you important to Voldemort's plan?"

Mr. Hinkle smiled. "Yes."

"Hm..." Alyx bit her lip. "Are you the only spy for Voldemort in or near Hogwarts?"

"... Yes." He seemed reluctant to answer that question.

"Can I trust you?"

Mr. Hinkle's lips stretched up in a wicked grin. "Yes."

"How long have you been a Death Eater?"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Mr. Hinkle laughed. "That isn't a yes or no quesiton."

Alyx made an annoyed sound from the back of her throat, but asked another question. "Are you going to keep trying to kill Izzy and me?"

"Yes."

"Is there a reasonable reason?"

"Yes."

"Isn't Voldemort going to come do the job himself, then?"

"Yes."

"Do you know when?"

"Yes."

"Will you tell me?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Not a yes or no question, again."

"Ugh!" Alyx gritted her teeth and tried again. "Fine... um..." Alyx bit her lip again. "Would Voldemort accept it if I went with whatever he's planning as long as he doesn't hurt my sister?"

"Honestly," Mr. Hinkle looked slightly surprised at Alyx's question, "I don't have a clue in the slightest."

"Well, find out," Alyx commanded, "or else I'll just have to tell Dumbledore about this little session." Alyx shot a glance at the cups before smirking at Mr. Hinkle, who had gone chalk-white.

"... Alright," he said after a cautious pause. "Alright, I'll ask the Dark Lord. What is your specific request?"

"Leave my sister out of this," Alyx declaired with her head held high, "and I'll go through with whatever it takes. I'll do this on my own- leave my sister out of it."

Mr. Hinkle stared at her before breaking into a fit of chuckles. "You are strong-willed." He commented before nodding. "I'll tell him your request."

"Thank you," Alyx nodded at him once, curtly. "If you'll excuse me, Izzy is probably freaking out, and I don't wish to get killed for taking too long, so see you tomorrow," after a pause, Alyx added snarkily, "_sir_."

Mr. Hinkle's smirk was the last thing she saw before spinning and hurrying out of the room. Alyx ran through the halls and burst into the Griffyndor common rooms, where Izzy and the marauders were waiting. Izzy's head snapped up and she launched herself at Alyx.

"Are you okay?" She had lowered her voice so the marauders couldn't hear. "What'd you talk about? Did he try anything? Did he do anything to you?"

"Izzy, he's a Death Eater," Alyx whispered, rolling her eyes, "not a pedophile." After seeing her sister's murderous expression, Alyx laughed. "Nothing, he tried nothing. We just talked." Alyx bit her lip. "I can't tell you what about, though."

"What!?" Izzy didn't bother to keep quiet; she'd raised her voice to a shriek. "You can't tell me?!"

"I'm sorry, Iz," Alyx smiled sadly, "but would you rather I lie and tell you we talked about things we didn't? Our discussion was private- confidential, if you will."

"How dare you!" Izzy was extremely upset. "I'm your sister!"

"I know," Alyx's voice was pleading, "please, Izzy, just try to understand-"

"Understand what?" Izzy snapped angrily. "That my own sister –my own twin- is keeping something this big from me?"

"No," Alyx looked at loss, "Izzy-"

"Oh, so I'm wrong." Izzy looked utterly upset. "Would you mind telling me why, or is that confidential, too?"

"Hey!" Alyx narrowed her eyes. "I'm keeping this from you to keep you safe!"

Izzy's jaw fell agape. "Safe?"

"Yes! God, Izzy!" Alyx threw her hands up in exasperation, a glare in her eyes. "You're reckless and careless sometimes- no, most of the time. I can't tell you; because I know you'll only go to extremes and do something idiotic that you think is right. Or helpful. Or whatever. You're careless about your own actions and I know if I tell you you'll just go out and do something we'll all regret. You just make everything so much harder. There are things in this world you don't understand. No matter how hard you try to act like you know what's happening, and what's going on, you don't. So stop trying to act like it- it just makes it harder for everyone else." Alyx took a deep breath, ignoring the stricken look on her twin's face. "You don't think. It'd be easier if you just stayed out of this- out of everything. I'll handle it. Just... just go to bed and forget about it."

Izzy's eyes looked dead, the excited, happy glow faded from her irises. Her arms were limp at her sides and her breath ghosted past her dry lips. Pools of water fell down her cheeks, dimly lit by the small amount of light emitted by the fireplace. No one spoke- the silence was deafening.

"Fine," Izzy shrugged numbly, her voice hollow. "I'll stay out of it." She turned to the marauders and nodded once. "Good night." She quickly but gracefull ascended the Girls' Dormitry staircase.

After Izzy's footsteps disappeared, Alyx sank to the ground. "Shit... shit... shit..." She shook her head from side to side. "God- why me?" She was whispering now, no more yelling. She couldn't yell anymore. She didn't want to. She was tired of arguing. She was exhausted of everything.

Alyx saw small puddles form under her bent head, and reached up to wipe her eyes in surprise. She didn't know she'd been crying. But she couldn't stop. Alyx shook with sobs, her dry throat burning. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists. She couldn't stop crying.

The marauders hurried over not seconds after they realized Alyx was crying. Sirius, without hesitation, put his arms around her while James, Remus, and Peter rubbed her back.

They sat there for a long time, and it took just as long to realize Alyx had falled asleep. Remus, James, and Peter left Sirius with Alyx. He picked her up bridal style and sat her on the couch, wrapping a blanket around her, than double coating it with his own arms.

Sirius soon drifted into sleep as well, sitting cozily in front of the fire with Alyx resting next to him.

*

"I can't believe you!" Alyx jumped away from Sirius, who was laughing. Her face was red as a tomato, and she'd just found out the... position she and Sirius had slept in. She continued her rant. "You filthy scum!" She ran around the couch when Sirius tried to hug her.

"Aw, Ally," Sirius pouted. "Why so grumpy?"

The answer to that question walked into the common room, ignoring Alyx. She walked right up to James, Remus, and Peter and smiled. "Hello, boys!"

"Hi, Izzy," Remus smiled back hesitantly, shooting a glance at Alyx, who looked broken.

In all truth, Alyx was broken. She was only doing the best for her twin, but not being able to tell Izzy was killing her. Alyx and Izzy never kept secrets from eachother. Not once.

Alyx turned and went up the Girls' dormitry stairs, changed into her robes, grabbed her bag, and headed back down. She passed the Marauders and Izzy with her head held high. As she exited the common room, Braydon caught up with her, walking at her pace.

"Hey," he said tenatively. "Are you okay? You seem sort of... pissed off." He chuckled.

"Izzy is the one who is pissed off," Alyx said, and after an afterthought, she added, "at me."

"Oh," Braydon looked apologetic. "Alyx... I'm sorry. Are you okay, though?"

"Me? I'm fine." Alyx shrugged.

_Lier_, a small voice in the back of her head told her viciously. _You're dying. Why can't you let people in? At least tell the Marauders how you feel. They'll understand. _

_You think I don't know that? _Alyx replied sourly. Great, she was (technically) talking to herself. Perfect.

"I've got to go to my first class," Braydon made a face, "Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Alyx laughed, and then smirked. "Tell Mr. Hinkle I said 'hi'."

Braydon looked a bit confused, but grinned softly. "Sure. What class do you have first?"

"Transfiguration."

"Lucky," Braydon shook his head before grinning at her. "I gotta to. See you later, Alyx!"

"Later, Braydon." She nodded at him, smiling.

They departed and went separate ways. Alyx walked alone in the hallways of Hogwarts, and so did Izzy. People were starting to notice.

Lily approached the Marauders in the hallway and confronted them.

"What's with Alyx and Izzy?" She asked, eyeing the boys.

They all shrugged. "They wouldn't tell us. But Izzy's angry at Alyx."

Remus added, looking sad. "Alyx is broken up about it."

"Oh, poor Alyx." Lily looked genuinely sorry for Alyx. "I wonder what their fight is about."

"It must be a big reason if they're this upset about it." James remarked. He paused. "Lily?"

Lily, forgetting about her daily hatred of James, looked at him. "Hm?"

"Will you go out with me?"

"_No!"_

**

* * *

**

Ha, ha. Love that ending. I'm sorry- this is a bit shorter than usual. I've got LOADS of Homework, and CSAPs are coming up. (CSAPs are tests that determine which class you'll be in next year. I'm gonna score brilliantly. I don't ever study, but I always get As and Bs. I'm like James Potter!! XD)


End file.
